Table Of ContentNorthern Territory Naturalist (2005) 18: 45-50
Avian granivores consume flowers, not just seed,
of the Top End Bamboo Bambusa arnhemica
Donald C. Franklin
School for Environmental Research, Charles Darwin University,
Darwin, NT 0909. Email: [email protected]
"Who eats bamboo seed? Everybody does." So wrote Janzen (1976) in his classic
work on the gregarious flowering and subsequent die-off of many bamboos. Janzen
collated a large anecdotal record demonstrating aggregation (often in huge numbers)
at flowering stands of bamboo, and consumption of bamboo seed, by humans, many
species of rodent, pigs, elephants, rhinoceros, a range of bovids and cervids, monkeys,
a variety of birds, and insects. During a drought in India, an estimated 35 000 people
survived on bamboo seed (Lowrie 1900 cited in Janzen 1976). Mass-flowering events
are often followed by rodent plagues (Chauhan & Sasena 1985, Jaksic & Lima 2003).
At least one bird species, the Pied Mannikin Lonchura fringil/oides of East Africa,
appears to be a bamboo seed specialist (Jackson 1972).
The seeds of most bamboos are large, nutritious grains (caryopses) that lack defensive
toxins (Pathak 1979, Bhargava cl al. 1996). Janzen (1976) proposed that the peculiarly
infrequent gregarious-flowering behaviour and subsequent death of certain bamboos
was an evolutionary response to the vulnerability of its seeds to consumers, in which
huge production of seed alternates with many years of no production at all, the latter
ensuring that populations of seed consumers cannot build up to match the abundance
of the resource - the seed predator satiation hypothesis. Effective seed predator satiation
during a mast-fruiting event, and subsequent total failure of seed under unsatiated
conditions, has been documented in Bornean dipterocarps (Curran & Webb 2000).
However, the improved pollination rates achievable by wind-pollinated species when
neighbours are flowering, along with several other possibilities, are potential additional
or alternative explanations for the adaptive value of infrequent but massive fruiting
events (Kelly 1994, Sakai 2002).
Bambusa arnhemica, a bamboo endemic to the north-western Top End of the Northern
Territory1, flowers gregariously at intervals of c. 40—50 years and seeds prolifically
(Franklin 2004). Simple or compound flowering branches up to 2.5 m long bear
clusters (inflorescences) of pseudospikelets at each node. In this note, I report
observations, obtained in the course of studies of B. arnhemica flowering behaviour, of
birds consuming plant material from the inflorescences of B. arnhemica. When 1
located birds amongst standing B. arnhemica inflorescences, I examined them through
binoculars. If any individual was observed consuming any part of the inflorescence
(cf probing in apparent search of insects), 1 noted the species, and counted or
estimated the flock size. To maximise independence of records, a bird species was
46 Northern Territory Naturalist 18 (2005) D. Franklin
recorded in this way at a maximum of one location per day. I also report aviary trials
to test my suspicions about what the birds were consuming.
I obtained 93 observations of 11 bird species foraging on the inflorescences of B.
amhemica, comprising four cockatoo, three parrot and four finch species (Table 1).
Reflecting where I spent most time in flowering bamboo stands, 83 records (89%)
were in the Adelaide River catchment, the remainder being shared between the Daly,
Finniss and Mary River catchments. Reflecting the main flowering and seeding times
of B. amhemica (Franklin, unpubl.), 89 (96%) of records were within the period July to
December, with a peak in October (28 records, 30%). The most frequently recorded
and numerous species were Rainbow Lorikeet and Chestnut-breasted Mannikin,
followed by Double-barred Finch and Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo. Rainbow Lorikeets
fed particularly persistently, moving slowly from inflorescence to inflorescence in a
manner that could feasibly have serious adverse affects on the productivity of clumps,
especially if only isolated clumps were flowering. Mannikins, on the other hand,
tended to move through an area, feeding fairly briefly on each clump. Cockatoos may
be relatively under-reported because they were often wary and flushed before I could
confirm their behaviour. Several small honeyeater species, notably the White-throated
Honeyeater Melithreptns albogularis and the Brown Honeyeater ljchmera indistincta, were
frequently recorded probing inflorescences, but I saw no evidence that they were
consuming plant material. Granivorous birds were also observed foraging on the
ground below flowering or recently-seeded bamboo clumps, but the identity of the
food being consumed could not be confirmed.
Table 1. Birds observed feeding at inflorescences of wild bamboo Bambusa amhemica.
Median flock
Species No. of records size (range)
Cacatuidae
Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo Calyptorhynchus banksii 9 10 (2-100)
Galah Cacatua roseicapilla 1 4 (4)
Little Corella Cacatua sanguinea 4 8.5 (7-13)
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Cacatua galerita 4 1 (1-2)
Psittacidae
Rainbow Lorikeet Trichoglossus haematodus 21 5 (2-60)
Red-winged Parrot Aprosmictus erythropterus 7 2 (1-4)
Northern Rosella Ptatycercus venustus 5 2 (1-5)
Passeridae
Double-barred Finch Taeniopygia bichenovii 14 3 (1-10)
Long-tailed Finch Poephila acuticauda 1 8 (8)
Crimson Finch Neochmia phaeton 7 2 (1-5)
Chestnut-breasted Mannikin Lonchura castaneothorax 20 10 (1-30)
Bamboo and birds Northern Territory Naturalist 18 (2005) 47
I started with the assumption that the listed bird species were seeking and consuming
bamboo seed, but soon became suspicious that this was frequently not the case. I
noticed that bird activity' at the inflorescences appeared related to flowering perse and
not to my unquantified observations about seed availability, the latter being sparse
except in October or November. On a number of occasions when I saw much active
foraging amongst the inflorescences, I made an effort to locate seed on them, but
found few. Furthermore, the rapid and repetitive bill movements of foraging
granivores that 1 observed repeatedly was hardly consistent with either direct
consumption or fragmentation of seeds. So far as I could determine, finches and
Rainbow Lorikeets appeared to be chewing 'empty1 green florets, but I could not
determine what the cockatoos were consuming.
My suspicions that flowers were being consumed were further raised when I measured
B. ambemica seeds. These are grains with a mean air-dry' weight of 19.3 mg and mean
dimensions of 7.6 by 2.1 mm (Franklin 2003). They weigh 3.2 times as much as seeds
of Annual Spear-grass Sarga intrans and 1.5 times those of Giant Spear-grass
Ueteropogon tritueus (Dostine & Franklin 2002). In a study of finch diets (Gouldian
Etytbrura goi/ldiae; Masked Poepbila personata; and Long-tailed P. acuticaudcr, Dostine &
Franklin 2002), seeds of S. intram were the largest seed consumed whole, those of H.
tritueus being consumed only after being fragmented. As Crimson Finch and
especially Double-barred Finches are smaller-bodied and have smaller bills dtan any of
these species (Franklin, unpubl.), and bill size in Australian grass-finches is direcdy
related to the size of seed consumed (Todd et al. 2003), it seemed most unlikely that
these birds could swallow whole B. ambemica seeds.
To test the interest of birds in inflorescences lacking seed, and to identify what else
they might be consuming, I collected sections of B. ambemica flowering branches, each
around 15-20 cm long and containing two or three inflorescences, from the Adelaide
River. I checked each section thoroughly and removed the few ripe or un-ripe seeds,
which were readily detected by the swollen firmness of the floret. On the same
afternoon, I took them to the Territory Wildlife Park, where two to three sections
were placed in each of four small aviaries, either attached to the wire or on the ground
(as advised by keeping staff based on what the birds were used to). Aviaries were
selected to represent a range of the finches and parrots available including, where
possible, the species listed in Table 1. The birds' response was observed from a
distance of from 3—5 metres for about 10 minutes.
Rainbow Lorikeets and Hooded Parrots showed no sign of interest in the branch
sections, and after several 'exploratory'’ pecks they were ignored by Pictorella
Mannikins (Table 2). However, Yellow-rumped Mannikins, Gouldian Finches and
one Red-winged Parrot fed persistently and systematically on the inflorescences. The
Red-winged Parrot worked over each inflorescence, breaking off most or all of an
entire pseudospikelet before running it sideways through its bill and masticating it
thoroughly, then dropping the remaining green material (the lemma and palea).
48 Northern Territory Naturalist 18 (2005) D. Franklin
Yellow-rumped Mannikins worked along the spikelets, often removing one or more
florets and masticating them, shedding the green matter afterwards. Gouldian
Finches pecked persistently at the inflorescences, working along the spikelets, but did
not obviously remove anything. In the case of Yellow-rumped Mannikins and the
Red-winged Parrot, it was clear that the internal contents of the florets, and not the
outer glumes, were sought and consumed, and that these were obtained by squeezing
out the contents. It is not clear what the Gouldian Finches were doing or obtaining,
but they could have been obtaining droplets or fragments left by the mannikins. The
observed foraging behaviour by Yellow-rumped Mannikins and the Red-winged
Parrot was consistent with what I had observed in the wild.
Table 2. Response of aviary birds to provision of seedless Bambusa amhemica
inflorescences, 22 August 2001.
Aviary Species Response to inflorescences
1 2 Red-winged Parrots Aprosmictus erythropterus one Red-winged Parrot
2 Rainbow Lorikeets Trichoglossus haematodus systematically consumed them
2 c. 15 Pictorella Mannikins Heteromunia pectoralis initial interest only; no
consumption
3 c. 15 Gouldian Finches Erythrura gouldiae persistent consumption by both
5 Yellow-rumped Mannikins Lonchura flaviprymna species, repeated when a
second batch of inflorescences
were provided
4 4 Hooded Parrots Psepholus dissimilis no sign of interest
The contents of B. amhemica florets, comprising the ovary, lodicules, stigmas and
stamens, are evidently of considerable interest as a food source to a range of birds.
Whilst such foraging behaviour is not surprising in the dietarily versatile Rainbow
Lorikeet and other parrots, and perhaps also amongst cockatoos (Higgins 1999), there
is no precedent for it amongst Australian finches which are regarded as either strictly
granivorous or seasonally somewhat insectivorous (Immelmann 1982, Read 1994,
Dostine & Franklin 2002, Todd et al. 2003). Todd et al (2003) did, however, report
that Crimson Finches consumed lerp, a soft carbohydrate exudate produced by
psyllids. There appear to be no published studies of the diet of the main finch species
involved here, the Chestnut-breasted Mannikin and Double-barred Finch, but it may
be of relevance that these two species and especially the mannikin are somewhat
noteworthy for the frequency with which they forage from standing grass stems rather
than on the ground (Immelmann 1982), a habit which might predispose them to
arboreal foraging on bamboo.
Bamboo and birds Northern Territory Naturalist 18 (2005) 49
Janzen (1976) cited records of Burmese jungle fowl and African monkeys feeding on
bamboo flowers. Insects may damage bamboo florets ()ohn <7 al. 1995, Koshy &
Harikumar 2001). This suggests yet another dimension to the vulnerability' of long-
lived bamboos during the brief phase of sexual reproduction that precedes death. The
value of highly synchronised flowering in satiating consumers, as postulated by the
seed predator satiation hypothesis, may also apply to 'predators of flowers'.
Acknowledgements
My study of Bambusa amhemica was funded by the Parks & Wildlife Commission of the
Northern Territory. At the Territory Wildlife Park, Jasmin Jan gave permission to
conduct the trials, and Greg Mayo facilitated them. Peter Whitehead commented
helpfully on a draft.
References
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Seed-eating birds avidly consume flowers of the Top End
Bamboo Bambusa amhemica. (Don Franklin)
